Twilling's WrestleMania 27 preview and predictions: The Rock hosts, The Miz vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship, The Undertaker vs. Triple H, Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole with Steve Austin as the special referee, and more

The following predictions are made without any inside knowledge of the match finishes. I've been away and am rusty, but like always, I am guessing just like you are.

The Miz vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship: The Rock and John Cena are the true headliners here although The Miz has been very effective in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania. Given what took place last week on Raw, I will rule out a PG ending of Rock and Cena celebrating together. I expect this to be a very pro-Rocky and anti-Cena crowd, so Rock costing Cena the match would go over with them just fine. However, I don't see that happening either.

Unfortunately, I have Cena defeating Miz for the belt and Rock leaving Cena laying with a Rock Bottom and People's Elbow. Or, they could pull a WrestleMania 9 finish with Rock defeating Cena for the WWE Championship in an impromptu match. Okay, negative on that one. I think it would be a huge mistake to derail The Miz's title reign tonight, but I do not see him retaining. Additionally, if Cena loses, that could take a little steam off of a potential WrestleMania match against The Undertaker next year.

I would love to see a situation like what happened between Hulk Hogan and The Rock at WrestleMania 18 where the crowd chooses to cheer for Rock and boo Cena, forcing WWE's hand and resulting in a Cena heel turn. If there was ever a time to pull the trigger on that, this would be that time.

Prediction: John Cena defeats The Miz to win the WWE Championship.

The Undertaker vs. Triple H in a No Holds Barred match: The hype and the promo work has been very well done. The entrances should be very memorable. Both guys are going to work their asses off. In fact, I see this being a lot like their match ten years ago at WrestleMania 17, a lot of which was contested outside of the ring, and was a very good match. I know they will want to top that match, but that is going to be difficult to do.

The only time since The Streak became an actual thing was it in danger was last year. However, call it being stubborn or cynical, I didn't think for a second Shawn Michaels was going to win last year, so it was about just enjoying the match. That is what this has to amount to because there is no way Triple H is winning this match. This will be an amazing spectacle with a lot of sizzle to go along with a fair amount of steak. Hunter will come close but the nearfalls will not be believable to this viewer.

Prediction: The Undertaker defeats Triple H.

Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole with Steve Austin as the special guest referee: It's amazing to me that this is the best buildup to a match WWE has done in a very long time, and it involves two announcers. Could you imagine Cena vs. Miz or Cena vs. Wade Barrett with the months of slow build this match received? WWE actually had me okay and even rooting for a Lawler WWE Championship reign of a day or even a week. That is impressive. Everybody wondered what the hell was going on with Cole when he became a heel announcer (most of the time). Well, he became one of the most compelling characters on television and is now in one of the most anticipated matches on the show. Of course, it all comes to a climax tonight. Lawler wins with a piledriver and middle rope fist to the head. Post match, Cole will receive a Stunner. King and Austin will celebrate together. Unless it has been reported otherwise, I predict Jim Ross will either call this match or get a shot in himself, or both.

Prediction: Jerry Lawler defeats Michael Cole.

Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship: I did not jump onto Del Rio's bandwagon right away like most people did, but the guy has a lot of talent. Similarly, I've never been a fan of Vickie Guerrero's character, but like Del Rio, I completely understand why people enjoy their characters. This one feels a bit like a throwaway match to me. A World Title match at WrestleMania should be more exciting than this, but I just don't feel it for this one. That being said, if given the time, they could go out there and make a run at stealing the show. It's amazing what you can do when expectations are low. I'm sure the popular prediction here is Christian turning on Edge and costing him the championship. That way, Edge could feud with Christian and Del Rio can move into a program with Rey Mysterio or someone else. For some reason, I'm going to say WWE doesn't want to be predictable here, so Edge will retain his title and Del Rio will have to wait a month to win it. Or, Christian could turn on Edge while he has the belt, putting himself in a better position.

Prediction: Edge defeats Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Randy Orton vs. CM Punk: Punk has done a phenomenal job on the stick leading up to this match and Orton let his actions do the talking. However, this one seems to be missing something as well. I commend WWE for recalling distant history, but I doubt few people care about Orton costing Punk the World Heavyweight Title a couple of years ago. Additionally, the buildup to Punk vs. Mysterio last year was also very good and they only worked a five minute match. I'm sure this one will go a little longer, but for the second straight year, Orton is not involved in a top attraction Mania match, even if WWE wants us to believe this is a match of that caliber. Although I see the program continuing, I think Orton wins this match.

Prediction: Randy Orton defeats CM Punk.

Rey Mysterio vs. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes: This one is similar to the Orton vs. Punk match in that it has had solid buildup and should be good, but it is a match that we could see on Smackdown. I am glad Cody is getting this chance because I have been a fan of his character. This is a tough one to pick, but I will go with Rey, just in case Del Rio wins the World Heavyweight Championship and they want to have a championship program between the two.

Prediction: Rey Mysterio defeats Cody Rhodes.

John Morrison, Trish Stratus, and Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler, Michelle McCool, and Layla: It is definitely a treat to see Trish wrestling at Mania again. The only way the heels win this match is if Ziggler pins Morrison, but I don't see it happening. Morrison and Ziggler will have a couple of impressive exchanges. Trish will lay out LayCool and Snooki will score the pinfall.

Prediction: John Morrison, Trish Stratus, and Snooki defeat Dolph Ziggler, Michelle McCool, and Layla.

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan for the United States Championship: This one will be very good and most likely too short. Sheamus just won the championship and will retain here. I could see the feud continuing on TV into the next pay-per-view or two.

Prediction: Sheamus defeats Daniel Bryan to retain the United States Championship.

Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel vs. Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella, and Kofi Kingston. Hopefully they turn "meaningless" into something they can build on. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening. The babyface team will win here. The one wild card could be Kofi turning on his team and joining The Corre, but again, that is probably pretty far fetched.

Prediction: Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella, and Kofi Kingston defeat The Corre.

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